action of cutting slices of raw meat on red boardGood food hygiene is crucial for caterers who are looking to establish and maintain their businesses. Many restaurants, takeaways, cafes and even food carts will live and die by their food hygiene ratings.

If a caterer gets a poor reputation for hygiene among customers, then their business can dry up very quickly.

Maintaining good hygiene is all about controlling harmful bacteria and preventing illness.

The 4 Cs of good food hygiene

Preventing cross-contamination

Cross-contamination is one of the most common causes of food poisoning and other illnesses. Most often, it is caused when raw food touches some ready-to-eat food.

Tips for prevention

To help caterers avoid cross-contamination, H&O Plastics produce food-safe plastic buckets in a variety of different colours. Using colour-coded containers can be an effective weapon against mixing up food products. Raw meat should be stored in red containers while pre-prepared items like salad should be kept in green containers.

Cleaning your kitchen

A good clean kitchen is important to combatting bacteria and stopping the spread of harmful materials onto your food.

Cleaning tips

All H&O products are easy to clean and fully dishwasher safe.

Chilling food

Chilling food properly prevents harmful bacteria from multiplying. Certain types of food must not be left standing around at room-temperature for too long.

Caterer tips:

Cooking hygienically

Thorough cooking is extremely important to killing bacteria. You must make sure that all of your food is piping hot, all the way through, before serving it to customers.

For certain types of meat, like poultry, pork and minced meat, this is critically important. These products should never be served pink or rare.

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